I recall to this day the Tudor vibration-action football game that I desperately wanted as a kid, and DID NOT RECEIVE. Boy, was I pissed. Sorry for being such a poop that long-ago Christmas morning, Mom and Dad.

Never having forgotten that magical vibration-action game, I think it has inspired the development of our patented Sonic Motion technology. We have developed myriad applications of this technology in toys and elsewhere - creating motion powered by vibration, and in our case, by that of the soundwaves of a speaker.

All inspired by playthings we never had.

Never underestimate the power of the playthings of childhood to change the world.

This Christmas season we have already provided a thousand or so toys and games to the children served by the Big Brothers - Big Sisters of Chicagoland. These toys were generously donated by many of our readers, the kind toy executives and generous toy companies that we work with. Thank you.

As there is always unmet need, always those who go without, we went out and purchased even more toys and games recently, and went about wrapping them yesterday to get them out the door before this weekend.

As the letters to Santa come into our World's-Only-Animated-and-Talking-Santa-Mail-Only-Mailbox we read each one carefully, and if they have provided a name and address we try to get them at least one of the gifts on their list, to wrap and hand deliver surreptitiously on Christmas Eve.

From guest blogger John Fertig, Sr. Designer at Lund and Company Invention, L.L.C.

John has made a name for himself in the toy industry as an inventor for over 20 years.

The Elves started handing out presents and worked as a team. My job was ushering in the children in to sit with Santa to get their pictures taken, then wishing them a "Merry Christmas” and sending them on their way (with their present).

We did this like clockwork for a couple of hours for several hundred children! It reminded me of the movie A Christmas Story, but we did not have a slide to send the children down on.

The children were all dressed up, girls in their best Christmas dresses and boys in their best Christmas ties. Kids ranged from ages 7 – 13+, all with their Big Brother or Big Sister. All seemed to be having a great time.

The kids were adorable, so appreciative and well behaved. It was a wonderful and enriching experience - one I will never forget.

We might have all come in that day freezing cold, but we all left with big smiles and warm hearts.

We suggested that the stranger come back the next day during regular hours and we would provide some advice and guidance, the contact info for our patent attorney, and wished him every success with his invention as he walked away thanking us profusely. We even offered him some of our chicken wings. We're not all bad, you see, we just don’t like being interrupted during the Bad Boys Bistro.

Now, this is not an uncommon story. We try to be helpful, but there are others out there that prey on the hopes and dreams of those with just one idea. I always say, “There is nothing more dangerous than a person with one idea.” It becomes an obsession, and they become fair game for those who might take advantage of them.

If you have invented a product, be very careful. Talk with an attorney about protection and be wary of paying anyone money for their assistance. There are people out there who will take your money in exchange for promises, but few who will get you the results you seek.

If one is engaged in this illegal activity that must be concealed, then what else does that lead to - what moral decay does it cause to the individual? What effect does it have on their spouse, children, friends, coworkers? How does one attend church and look others straight in the eye? These choices are not without consequence. It does not help one sleep well at night to always be looking over one’s shoulder.

I would love to see this industry, our industry, my beloved toy and game industry, just this one teeny, tiny little industry that creates the toys and games that entertain, educate, and inspire our children and future adults, wash its hands clean.

Why do toy company executives, owners, and their staff go to China? Why is so much time spent there? Aside from, or in addition to time spent at their Hong Kong and China offices, many smaller toy company owners of my acquaintance spend six months a year in China and others simply choose to live there full time.

Why, as inventors, do we go to Hong Kong and China? What are the benefits of such an arduous trip?

For toy company owners it is to keep their fingers on the pulse, the flow of goods, and money, the attention and interest of the factories. I have heard owners complain of financial losses as a result of not being at the factories in person. Of course, that can happen many ways, as you might well imagine.